Dear Seniors and other readers,
Appreciate your advise on how do I deal with an important client, who gets to be very loud and extremely rude. He apologizes later but it stresses out the staff anyways.
I have spoken with the client and counselled the staff but its a repeat performance everytime. We are a medium sized IT firm, and the staff in question are project leaders.
Please advise!
From India, Madras
Appreciate your advise on how do I deal with an important client, who gets to be very loud and extremely rude. He apologizes later but it stresses out the staff anyways.
I have spoken with the client and counselled the staff but its a repeat performance everytime. We are a medium sized IT firm, and the staff in question are project leaders.
Please advise!
From India, Madras
Hello friend,
Yes - it is a tough challenge. However you may try following:
Understand expectaions of the client - write down in his presence and get concurrence.
Prepare a plan for interactions - meeting schedules with him.
Proactively provide feedback on status of progress relevant and important for him.
Ensure that meetings are held as decided to keep him updated.
Invite him the client for events as special invitee/chief guest- for example Foundation Day of the company, Cultural Evening etc.
These are some thoughts - you may get even more ideas.
Just to tell you an incident - I visited a garment shop in chennai and purchased some clothes. They had noted in their register my birthday - every year they send me a greeting card on my birthday for the last five years - I am amazed at the customer care function.
Regards
nishikant
From United States, Greensboro
21Yes - it is a tough challenge. However you may try following:
Understand expectaions of the client - write down in his presence and get concurrence.
Prepare a plan for interactions - meeting schedules with him.
Proactively provide feedback on status of progress relevant and important for him.
Ensure that meetings are held as decided to keep him updated.
Invite him the client for events as special invitee/chief guest- for example Foundation Day of the company, Cultural Evening etc.
These are some thoughts - you may get even more ideas.
Just to tell you an incident - I visited a garment shop in chennai and purchased some clothes. They had noted in their register my birthday - every year they send me a greeting card on my birthday for the last five years - I am amazed at the customer care function.
Regards
nishikant
From United States, Greensboro
I do agree with Nishikant. But giving such a VIP treatment all the time may put you in pressure everytime you meet. Expectations increases with such treatments.
You should send the minutes of meeting to client, his superiors' your superiors and all the attendees of the meeting. such mail should go that very day asking to the intended persons about any additions required from there side if you have missed something and keep those minutes with you for the next meeting. You can give copy of the same to your client as well.
This will surely put you and your staff in a comfort zone.
Also, you need to think bit political in such cases.
All d vry best
cheers
Abhimanyu Soni
You should send the minutes of meeting to client, his superiors' your superiors and all the attendees of the meeting. such mail should go that very day asking to the intended persons about any additions required from there side if you have missed something and keep those minutes with you for the next meeting. You can give copy of the same to your client as well.
This will surely put you and your staff in a comfort zone.
Also, you need to think bit political in such cases.
All d vry best
cheers
Abhimanyu Soni
Nishikant and Abhimanyu, many thanks for your thoughts and advise.
Since we are a software solutions firm, some of the work and the errors which crop up are unpredictable. The errors might come from the client side itself or from our team. Nishikant, so while we are following what you suggest, at the heat of the moment without realising its his office which is responsible for errors in a software program, the client will turn abusive!
Abhinmanyu, minutes of the mtg is difficult bcoz the client is in Hong Kong and most of our work is online and phone. But definitely some records need to be maintained of the events preceding an outburst.
Thanks again,
Much regards!
From India, Madras
Since we are a software solutions firm, some of the work and the errors which crop up are unpredictable. The errors might come from the client side itself or from our team. Nishikant, so while we are following what you suggest, at the heat of the moment without realising its his office which is responsible for errors in a software program, the client will turn abusive!
Abhinmanyu, minutes of the mtg is difficult bcoz the client is in Hong Kong and most of our work is online and phone. But definitely some records need to be maintained of the events preceding an outburst.
Thanks again,
Much regards!
From India, Madras
Hello Tmathai,
Difficult problem.
Dont take the abusiveness personally. Keep your voice calm and cool when dealing with them. When he shouts at you or the staff ,just tell them to respond in a calm and firm way but tell him not to shout.
I suppose dependency must be on both sides, so why buckle so much.
one more option is to bring this to the notice of your bosses who can counsel his bosses.
Riyaz
From India, Delhi
Difficult problem.
Dont take the abusiveness personally. Keep your voice calm and cool when dealing with them. When he shouts at you or the staff ,just tell them to respond in a calm and firm way but tell him not to shout.
I suppose dependency must be on both sides, so why buckle so much.
one more option is to bring this to the notice of your bosses who can counsel his bosses.
Riyaz
From India, Delhi
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